Macroom 0-13
Kildorrery 3-4  

WHILE they would have been happy to settle for a draw at half-time, Macroom will probably feel they should have won this Evening Echo county intermediate football championship match at Cullen last Saturday evening.

It took an injury-time point from hard-working corner forward John Howard to earn Kildorrery a second bite of the cherry, and the Avondhu side will now be playing their fifth game in the campaign when the teams renew rivalry. Beaten by Carrigaline in the opening round, they sailed very close to the wind in their next outing against Aghabullogue, relying on two late points to salvage a draw.

They won the replay convincingly, and, having again rode their luck in this clash, the 2008 runners-up could well be tempted to believe that their name is on the trophy. Macroom would appear to have more reason to look ahead with optimism, however, taking developments on Saturday night as a yardstick.

Trailing by 3-2 to 0-4 at the interval, they raised their game significantly on the resumption, aided by a series of switches, which transformed the team. Substitutes Brian Lynch, John Goold and especially Conor O'Sullivan gave their attack a fresh impetus, while Ivan Casey's introduction in defence also brought results as he kept a tight rein on Kildorrery's Peter O'Brien, who had made regular headway on the left wing before the break.

But Kildorrery's key attacker in the first half was unquestionably Tom Monaghan, who bagged a hat-trick of goals from fullforward. Again, however, the decision to move John Angland from the left corner to full-back yielded rich dividends for Macroom, as he put the shackles on Monaghan, removing much of the sting from the Kildorrery attack in the process.

With the polished Fintan Goold pulling the strings at midfield, it meant that most of the pieces fell into place for Macroom in the second half. They reduced the deficit to the minimum in the 42nd minute when effective wing-back Ciaran Murphy latched on to a precision cross from corner forward John Ryan to shoot a fine goal.

A misplaced pass out of defence by the otherwise flawless John Angland resulted in the opening, which allowed John Howard to break Kildorrery's second half duck two minutes later. But Macroom maintained their momentum after that, and, despite squandering a chance of a goal when midfielder Eoin O'Mahony shaved the butt of the upright, they inched ahead in the 57th minute, courtesy of the impressive David Goold.

Kildorrery had a kick left in them, however, and John Howard came to their rescue at the death, landing an equalising point following good work by Tom Monaghan, who, in fairness, didn't enjoy a generous service at the edge of the square in the second half. Monaghan certainly made his mark in the first half, bagging the first of his three goals in the sixth minute.

The chance came about after Macroom full back Rory Buckley failed to cut off a delivery from Kildorrey midfielder Mike Monaghan, and the Mid-Cork side had reason to bemoan the concession of the second goal as well. This time it was John Howard who delivered the ball into the danger zone where a scramble ensued, and Tom Monaghan, availing of some sloppy defending, got the vital touch to knock it over the line.

Macroom had recovered well from their first major set back, notching three points on the trot per Fintan Goold, from a free, David Goold and Eoin O'Mahony, who slapped over a beauty from distance to make it 0-4 to 1-0 in the 11th. minute. But they were really rattled following Tom Monaghan's second strike which, preceded by points from Dave White and John Howard, allowed Kildorrery to forge four clear with nine minutes to the interval.

White was in excellent form at centre-back for Kildorrery, receiving solid support from his flankers Michael Walsh and Eamonn O'Connor, with the result that David Goold, who carried the main threat up front for Macroom, was denied the possession he needed to build on a bright start at full-forward.

Macroom's prospects nosedived in the 26th minute when, after David Goold was off-target from a free, Peter O'Brien plucked the kick-out from the clouds to launch a slick Kildorrery raid completed by another goal from Tom Monaghan, who took his chance with aplomb after being fed by John Howard.

The respite at half-time appeared to galvanise Macroom, however, and they hit the ground running on the turnover, bagging a third consecutive score in the 37th. minute when Conor O'Sullivan did the spadework for a point from David Goold.

Kildorrery full-back Tom Paul Murphy did a good policing job on Goold in the second half, but the impact made by substitutes O'Sullivan, Brian Lynch and John Goold – whose forceful play on the '40 curbed Dave White's dominance – meant that the Macroom attack, with John Ryan also putting a shoulder to the wheel, moved much more menacingly as a unit.

By contrast, Kildorrery found it increasingly difficult to unhinge the Macroom rearguard once Peter O'Brien and Tom Monaghan were kept in check, although the latter might have bagged a fourth goal had he not lost his footing after being fed following a strong run by Mike Monaghan. As it was, his effort from the ground went narrowly wide, and the next score was the goal from Ciaran Murphy which brought Macroom, now trailing by 3-2 to 1-7, right back into contention.

They looked the more likely side to prevail in the closing quarter, and the fact that Kildorrery's lastgasp equaliser brought their return to just two points for the entire second half sums up their shortcomings after the interval. With both sides missing some easy chances and turning over possession far too cheaply, the quality of the football wasn't exactly out of the top drawer.

But Macroom produced the better stuff for longer, and the manner in which they benefited from the restructuring of their formation in the second half augurs well for their hopes in the replay. On the other hand, Macroom won't need reminding that, having similarly allowed Valley Rovers off the hook at the quarter-final stage last year, they failed to do the business against the eventual champions at the second attempt.